On 14th November 2012, schools which get their meals from the Council will be celebrating their great food by inviting special guests to join them for lunch as part of national Food for Life Partnership Roast Dinner Day.
The Food for Life Team will be joining parents, members of the local community, school staff and pupils as they enjoy a locally sourced and seasonal roast dinner.
Lunch will be provided by Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Catering Services Team, which holds the prestigious Food for Life Bronze Catering Mark. They will be providing 61 schools across the district with a roast dinner on the day – serving more than 5,000 children. Roast Dinner Day has proved to be so popular in one school that it will be running it over two days as they cannot fit all of their parents in on one day.
Councillor Dine Romero (Lib-Dem, Southdown), Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children and Youth, said: “We’re delighted to get so many people schools and members of the community involved in this terrific initiative to promote healthy eating. Bath & North East Somerset Council is committed to helping schools develop and extend their role in the local community, and by highlighting the benefits of the fabulous food on offer to pupils every day we hope it will encourage everybody to enjoy a healthy lifestyle.”
The Roast Dinner Day provides the opportunity to see first-hand how the Food for Life Partnership is working together with Bath & North East Somerset Council to make a real difference to the health and well-being of school children in the district. All Bath and North East Somerset schools have been invited to take part in the day and will be blogging about their experiences to win prizes for their schools.
Jeanette Orrey MBE, School Meals Policy Advisor and former school cook who inspired Jamie Oliver’s school dinner campaign, said: “The Food for Life Partnership Roast Dinner Day is all about celebrating the fantastic catering staff, who are serving freshly prepared food for our children every day, as well as celebrating how far we’ve come in improving school meals across the country.”
The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. The Partnership is helping to revolutionise school meals, reconnect young people with farms and inspiring families to cook and grow food.
The initiative is led by the Soil Association, bringing together the practical expertise of the Focus on Food Campaign, Garden Organic and the Health Education Trust. The programme has moved towards a locally commissioned model, used to address key public health objectives and it is already working in six local authority areas, one of which is Bath and North East Somerset. To find out more, visit www.foodforlife.org.uk.
